Rainbow Ribbon Cake Recipes

RAINBOW LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among 6 small bowls, about 1 1/3 cups each.
• Using food colors, tint batter in 1 bowl blue, 1 bowl red, 1 bowl green, 1 bowl yellow, 1 bowl orange (using red and yellow) and 1 bowl purple (using blue and red).
• Refrigerate 3 colors of batter until ready to bake. Pour remaining 3 colors of batter into cake pans.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center and begins to pull away from side of pan. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling racks; cool completely.
• Wash cake pans. Bake and cool remaining 3 cake layers as directed.
• In large bowl, beat shortening and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until light yellow. On low speed, gradually beat in powdered sugar. Beat in vanilla. Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until frosting is smooth. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy.
• Trim rounded tops off cakes to level, if needed. On serving plate, place purple cake layer. Spread with frosting to within 1/4 inch of edge. Repeat with blue, green, yellow, orange and red cake layers. Spread light coat of frosting on top and side of cake to seal in crumbs, then frost with remaining frosting.

PASTEL RIBBON CAKE (SWIRLED PASTEL CAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter and line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper. (If you prefer making a round cake, you can butter and line 2 x 8 inch pans OR 2 x 9 inch pans).
• Make the cake batter according to this recipe.
• Divide the cake batter into 3 bowls. This is roughly about 400 g (14.1 oz) of batter per portion.
• Add a drop or two of food coloring into each portion (yellow, pink and green). Mix the batter to create the pastel colored cake batters.
• Dollop the batter into the prepared cake pan, while alternating colors. If you are using round cake pans, remember to divide the cake batter evenly between the pans - about 608 g (21.4 oz) batter per pan.
• Swirl the colors in the pan, and make the surface smooth. Knock the pan on the counter/work surface 2 - 3 times to remove any air, and to even out the cake batter in the pan.
• Bake the 9 x 13 inch pan in the preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes (mine takes about 32 minutes). (See Recipe Notes for bake times for 8 inch or 9 inch pans).
• Once the cake is baked, remove from the oven and let it cool down slightly. Turn the cake out onto a cooling rack, and let it cool down completely. The cake is now ready to be iced.
• Make the vanilla buttercream frosting according to the recipe instructions here.
• Evenly spread a layer of vanilla buttercream on top of the cake. Trim the edges to get clean straight lines.
• Pipe a simple border with a small closed star tip. Sprinkle funfetti (optional) on the surface of the cake. The middle of the cake can be used to pipe a message OR can be kept clean.
• Divide the buttercream frosting into 3 portions. One portion should be less than the other two. Color the smaller portion with green food coloring. Color the other two with pink and yellow.
• Apple a crumb coating to the top of the cake. Trim the edges of the cake, and crumb coat the sides as well.
• Put each of the buttercream frosting into piping bags and cut openings. Use another piping bag to attach the piping tips (so that it'll be easier to change between the colors for each tip).
• With a round tip, pipe two thin lines of the pink and yellow frostings along the side of the cake. Using an offset spatula smoothen the sides to create an ombre look.
• Pipe some of the frosting on the top of the cake as well, creating random patterns. Using an offset spatula, spread the buttercream to create a swirled pattern, and to make it smooth.
• Pipe a border along the cake with the rest of the pink and yellow buttercream.
• Using the green buttercream frosting and tip #234, create grass patches on the surface of the cake. Using tip #18, create drop flowers with pink and yellow buttercream (optional). Decorate with Easter eggs and Easter bunny chocolates.
• Place the cake on a cake serving platter and surround it with edible grass and more Easter eggs (optional).

ITALIAN RAINBOW COOKIE CAKE

Steps:

• Make the ganache: Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a small saucepan, then pour over the chocolate. Shake the bowl so the chocolate is fully submerged in the cream, then let stand 1 minute. Using a small rubber spatula, slowly stir the chocolate and cream in the center of the bowl until it forms a shiny, smooth ganache. Cover the ganache with plastic wrap and let stand in a cool place in your kitchen until it is thick like pudding, but still pourable and spreadable, up to 2 hours. (See Cook's Note about timing.)
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cut three 8-inch circles out of parchment paper. Using 2 tablespoons butter, grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans and line each pan with a round of parchment paper.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Combine the sugar and remaining 14 tablespoons butter in the bowl of a mixer and beat on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the almond filling, lemon juice and almond and vanilla extracts and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture, then stir with a rubber spatula until the batter is combined.
• Divide the batter equally among 3 bowls. Add the green, yellow and red food colorings to the batter in their separate bowls, then stir the colorings. Scrape each batter into a prepared cake pan and smooth the top with a small offset spatula or rubber spatula. Bake until the cakes are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean, 20 minutes.
• Transfer the cake pans to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the cake pans and discard the parchment paper rounds. Let the cakes cool completely, about 30 minutes. Flip the cakes right-side up and trim the top of each cake with a serrated knife so that it is flat, if necessary.
• Place the green cake on a cake stand and spread 1/4 cup jam evenly over the top. Place the yellow cake over the green and spread the remaining 1/4 cup jam evenly over the top. Place the pink layer on top, then loosely wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Unwrap the cake and scrape the ganache on top (the ganache will be the consistency of thick pudding). Using an offset spatula, spread the ganache evenly over the side and top of the cake, leaving a slightly thicker layer on top. Once the ganache is smooth all around, drag the tines of a fork in a wavy pattern across the top of the entire cake. Refrigerate the cake to set the ganache, about 30 minutes. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving.

RAINBOW SHERBET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease two 7-by-7-inch cake pans.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the vanilla. Add one egg at a time, mixing between each addition. In another bowl, sift the cake flour, all-purpose flour, salt and baking powder. Mix together the milk, lemon juice and lemon zest. Set the mixer to the to the lowest speed, and alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture a little bit at a time, starting and ending with the dry mixture. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are fully combined. Separate the batter evenly into three mixing bowls. Use the food coloring to color one bowl bright green, one bright orange and the last bright pink.
• Scoop each of the colors randomly into each pan. Use a small knife or spatula to swirl the colors into the cake to create a marble effect. Bake until cooked through, 45 minutes.
• Cool the cakes for 20 minutes.
• Frost one of the cakes with Rainbow Sherbet Buttercream, then layer the other cake on top. The cake will look colorful and marbled when cut.
• In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the powdered sugar and whip until fully mixed, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the lemon and orange emulsions, then separate the buttercream into 3 equal parts. Color one green, one orange and the last pink. Put all three frosting colors in a pastry bag. When piped, the colors will blend together.

RAINBOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch pan with cooking spray.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, butter, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Alternate adding half the dry ingredients and half the milk at a time and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate. Then add remaining dry ingredients and milk and beat until well combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it's well mixed.
• To dye the cake batter, divide it into 6 bowls about 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons per bowl. Dye each of the 6 colors. See the notes section on the recipe card for specific recommendations.
• Spoon the batter in the pan, alternating between colors. Once finished, tap the pan on the counter a couple times to settle the batter. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
• Cut butter into pieces. Using the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 5-7 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally. Beat until the butter looks light in color.
• Alternate adding 2 cups of powdered sugar at a time with the liquid ingredients: vanilla extract & heavy cream. Ensure the powdered sugar is well combined, then and whip for 1-2 minutes before adding more powdered sugar. Repeat until all ingredients are added.
• Once all the powdered sugar has been added, increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 3-5 minutes to whip additional air into the frosting.
• Set aside 1 cup of undyed frosting. Then divide the remaining frosting into 6 bowls, about ½ cup each. Dye each of the 6 colors and then place each color into its own piping bag. See the notes section on the recipe card for specific recommendations.
• To fill a multicolored bag, place a piping bag in a pint glass, folding the bag over the top edge. Pipe a line of each color (except white) into the bag. Fill 2/3 full and shake the bag to allow the colors to settle. Make 2-3 bags until you run out of frosting. Cut off the end of the bag, and then drop it into a second piping bag fitted with the piping tip.
• Start with the white, piping large rosettes with a 1M and/or Ateco 866 piping tip. Reserve some of the white to fill in later.
• Next pipe rainbow rosettes with a 1M and/or Ateco 866 piping tip. Then start adding in smaller rosettes using Tip 21 and Tip 199. Fill in remaining large areas with a ribbon using petal tip 104, with the skinny end facing up.
• Continue to fill in the holes with remaining white and rainbow frosting using any variety of these tips until the cake is frosted.

EASY SIX-LAYER RAINBOW CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease six 9-inch round cake pans and dust with flour.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Beat 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, milk, sugar, egg whites, and vanilla extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in flour mixture and mix until just combined.
• Divide cake batter evenly between 6 bowls. Mix in different food coloring to each bowl, creating 6 different colored batters. Start with just 1 to 2 drops of food coloring in each bowl, then mix; you can always add more.
• Bake each cake in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Beat cream in a chilled glass or metal bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Stir together confectioners' sugar and mascarpone cheese in a separate bowl, then fold gently into the whipped cream until smooth.
• Spread frosting on each layer of cooled cake, placing one on top of the other. Cover the top and sides with the remaining frosting. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.